No. 4 Cal Falls To No. 1 Texas In Madison

MADISON, Wis. – Fourth-ranked/fourth-seeded California women's tennis won the doubles point for the second-straight match, but the Golden Bears fell to top-ranked/top-seeded Texas, 4-2, in a Sunday consolation match at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
 
Cal leaves the Nielsen Tennis Stadium with a 5-3 record. Texas – the defending NCAA champion – is 7-1.
 
After a doubles loss on court one, the Bears' Erin Richardson and Julia Rosenqvist defeated Vivian Ovrootsky and Bella Zamarippa, 6-4 on court three. The Cal freshman duo of Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm then clinched the point with a 6-4 win over Charlotte Chavatipon and Peyton Stearns on court two.
 
Wiersholm continued her strong run at ITA indoors, beating Vivian Ovrootsky, 6-1, 6-2, at court-five singles. The freshman Bear finished 2-0 in singles and 1-0 in doubles in Madison.
 
But Texas – which captured five of six first sets in singles – won on courts six, two and one to take a 3-2 lead. The Longhorns' clinched their win when Chavatipon beat Rosenqvist, 6-3, 7-5, on court four.
 
"Again like yesterday, it was great we got the doubles point," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "We had ourselves in position to do well on several courts, and we just have to keep pushing and convert opportunities when we have them."
 
Augustus was proud of her Bears' performances in Madison, which included a win over No. 8 Texas A&M in the round of 16.
 
"The last two days we played the two teams (Texas and No. 5 Pepperdine) that played in the NCAA team final last year, and we played both very, very tight," she said. "We'll play both again in the next few weeks, along with some other tough matches. We have a handful of things to work on. We had a top-10 win and two other really close matches after this trip. This is what we came for. This group is really motivated by this experience. We'll use it to come back stronger and tougher."
 
Cal plays Texas again on Feb. 27 and plays Pepperdine – for the third time this season – on March 29, with both matches taking place in Berkeley.
 
Despite the loss to the Longhorns, Rosenqvist, the Cal senior, was optimistic about what competing in ITA indoors meant for the Bears.
 
"Watching these schools, these teams in the top five, we're finally getting close to them, and it builds a lot of confidence," Rosenqvist said. "When you're far from them or not playing them, you build up high expectations. But when you play them and you get really close, it fuels the fire and the motivation that you can do it next time."
 
Cal returns to the courts when the Bears play at San Diego State on Feb. 20 and at UCLA on Feb. 21.
 
ITA National Team Indoor Championship – Consolation Match
 
[1] No. 1 Texas (7-1) defeated [4] No. 4 Cal (5-3), 4-2
Feb. 13, 2022, in Madison, Wis.
Nielsen Tennis Stadium
 
Doubles
1. Kylie Collins/Sabina Zeynalova (Texas) def. Haley Giavara/Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 6-2
2. Jessica Alsola/Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Charlotte Chavatipon/Peyton Stearns (Texas), 6-4*
3. Erin Richardson/Julia Rosenqvist (Cal) def. Vivian Ovroostky/Bella Zamarippa (Texas), 6-4
 
Order of Finish – 1, 3, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 42 Peyton Stearns (Texas) def. Haley Giavara (Cal), 6-1, 1-6, 6-0
2. No. 26 Kylie Collins (Texas) def. No 110 Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 6-1, 6-2
3. No. 51 Jessica Alsola (Cal) vs. Sabina Zeynalova (Texas), 5-7, 6-1, 0-0 (Unfinished)
4. Charlotte Chavatipon (Texas) def. Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), 6-3, 7-5^
5. No. 120 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Vivian Ovroostky (Texas), 6-1, 6-2
6. Bella Zamarippa (Texas) def. No. 99 Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) 6-2, 6-1
 
Order of Finish – 6, 2, 5, 1, 4^
^Clinched the overall match